More than 600 colleges and universities are either in
the design phase or already offer competency-based (CBE) credentials, according
to a September report in Inside Higher Education. That work may be in jeopardy following the critical
audit of CBE issued by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S.
Department of Education (ED).
The inspector general’s office, which works
independently of ED, has raised concerns in its last two audits of the
credential review process. The audit was critical of the way the Higher
Learning Commission (HLC), the largest regional accreditor, considered college
proposals for CBE credentialing. It also questioned the level of interaction between
instructors and students.
In 2014, the inspector general’s audit criticized approval
of direct-assessment degrees. It also questioned the faculty’s role in CBE
credentialing and worried about low-quality providers. That prompted HLC to
freeze approval of degrees last year and the Department of Education to issue
more guidance on CBE.
“I, along with many others, have pointed out numerous
times that this particular regulation makes little sense in today’s world of
emerging online, competency-based programs—and we should instead be moving
toward outcomes-based judgments around institutions,” Michael B. Horn,
co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute, wrote in a column that appeared in CompetencyWorks. “But the friction is also entirely
predictable, as competency-based education simply does not fit into the
traditional value network and associated regulatory structures of higher
education.”
On the heels of the critical audit, ED announced a
series of executive actions aimed at strengthening the overall accreditation
system. The department will make public the standards every accreditor uses to
evaluate student outcomes. Accreditors will have to submit letters that are
sent to colleges and universities when the institutions are put on probation
and also highlight data such as student graduation rates, debt levels, and
postgraduation earnings, according to a report in U.S. News & World Report.
